How Far Are you Mr Pines?
by 6Phantom6
Summary: Sorry I had to take it down; editorial issues. Story's the same. Dipper and Mabel Pines were neck deep in the mysteries of Gravity Falls. But there are persons below the surface. How far are you to go Mr. Pines? Beyond the event horizon? Rated T for in case.
1. A Horrible Night

Sorry, I tried editing this. That's why I had to take it down for a while. Anyway, don't own Gravity falls, and sorry for confusion.

/

The book was in front of him, pages fluttering wildly as Dipper reached out to close it. He could feel the ground underneath his feet start to crumble away with each step, but the boy could only think about was that book. The mysterious volume '3' that was found in a false tree with many entries about creatures that crawled through the forests of Gravity Falls; the very volume that saved him and his sister numerous times from supernatural dangers and boredom. But now the book was alive and sending its pages to fly, each piece of paper fluttering into the black surroundings.

"The book…" he uttered, his words echoing, "It's coming apart…I didn't solve anything…" Suddenly, something popped out from behind the book, stretching to the highest reaches of the black sky and looming over the young man. Briefly, Dipper looked up and locked eye to eye with a man clad in a suit with a pyramid for a head, the lone eye staring down on him.

"Don't trust anyone…" an ominous voice boomed, "Remember that…they are not what they seem…"

"I know!" Dipper yelled, "I know that! Don't remind me!" The pyramid-headed gentleman raised a hand and slammed it down to the ground, causing the earth to crumble and for little Dipper to fall with the debris. He screamed as loud as he could as he fell to whatever plane of existence waited for him at the end, his eyes still locked on the pyramid gentleman that still stared down. After a few seconds, Dipper hit the ground with many clumps of dirt and small rocks raining down upon him. He covered his head and waited for the barrage to end, but he opened his eyes to see that the book was a few meters away from him, looking new as the day it was made. Carefully, Dipper crawled from the earth-based rain and towards the book, eager to put it where it usually rested and go on with his day.

But the plans were interrupted when a long, black limb grabbed the book and started to pull upwards, seeing a figure attached to that limb. "Hey, you can't have that!" Dipper cried as he jumped out to meet the figure, "I need that!"

"Join us…" it whispered, "You hold the third volume. Come with me and learn all the secrets."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, "'All the secrets'?"

"The secrets…" it hissed, "Learn all of the secrets…understand the world…"

"I just want to know what's up with Gravity Falls!" Dipper answered, "What is up with all the monsters, ghosts, creatures, and all the freaky stuff that happens? Can you tell me those secrets?"

"Secrets…" it uttered, "Gravity Falls is a secret…He is not as he seems…"

"Wait, who's 'he'?" He asked, "You mean the author of the book?" The figure did not answer as more figures started to sprout from the ground, huddling close to it. In their limbs were similar books with different numbers upon them, going up to the number 13. Dipper reached out for his book but something latched onto his leg and pulled him back. He looked down to see a rotten arm clasping tightly to his little leg. "LET GO!" He screamed as he tried to yank his limb free, but the arm held firm. He looked back at the book and stretched his arms to reach it, but was only able to lay his fingers upon the cover before being yanked to the ground. "Please help me!" Dipper yelled at the figures, "I'll join, just please help me!" But the figures turned their backs at the boy as the arm pulled him underground, his screams soon being muffled by the dirt.

/

Dipper sat up screaming from bed, cold air and sweat hitting his skin like a quick slap. He panted as he looked around, seeing that he was in his and Mabel's room, or the attic to be technical. He looked over at his sister, seeing that Mabel was still asleep with Waddles snuggled close to her under the covers. Sighing in relief, he reached under his bed and pulled out the book; volume '3'. He flipped to the second page and reread the warning. "There is no one you can trust…" he uttered.

He looked out the window to see the half-moon in the sky starting to sink, knowing that morning would arrive. Dipper carefully got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, taking the book with him. He closed the door and turned on the light, shining the dimming bulb upon the shabby bathroom. He looked at the mirror and saw the kind of reflection he had; shadows under the eyes, a pale complexion, and the skin shining with sweat with his bangs plastered to his forehead.

"Geez…" he breathed out as he turned the faucet on, "I look worse than I feel." Instantly, he splashed some water on his face to clean off the dried sweat and to calm his nerves. "What was with that dream?" he asked himself, "It was so real, but I don't know what it means. What was with that pyramid guy? And all those weird guys with the books…there can't be thirteen. The third one ended so abruptly…there can't be thirteen books…"

He breathed out as he shut the faucet off and walked to where the towels hung, wiping his face dry with the cheap cloth. He looked over to where his book laid; looking as old and raggedy as the day he first found it. Dipper placed his little hand on the six fingered symbol, his palm barely covering the three. "I really wish I could figure out everything before summer ends…" he muttered before turning to the mirror again.

However, he gasped and nearly fell in the bathtub when he saw a message written on the glass in black marker. "That wasn't there before!" he blurted before scrambling to take a good look at it. The message simply looked like gibberish. Taking a pen and turning to a blank page, he wrote the message quickly and looked down to see if he got the message copied perfectly.

**ERRN RQH LV KHUH. GRQW OHW HYLO KDYH LW.**

"This place keeps getting weirder and weirder." He muttered before shutting the book and turning off the light. Unbeknownst to him, something stared at him from the shadows and sighed as it melted.

"I hope you can do this Dipper." It muttered, "I just hope."

/

To be continued...


	2. The Morning After

I don't own Gravity falls, and sorry for confusion.

/

"Hey…Hey Dipper?" Mabel asked as she poked Dipper, "Come on…time to wake up!"

"Mmph….five more minutes…" he said, turning over in his sleep. Mabel frowned a bit at the response, looking towards Waddles.

"Well Waddles," she asked, "What should I do to Dipper? Should I draw on his face, or should I bedazzle him?"

"I'm up!" he yelled as he sprang from bed, "Don't use the bedazzling gun!" His sister giggled at her brother's reaction, her pet grunting along. "Wait," Dipper began, "How long was I asleep?"

"Not that long," Mabel admitted, "Just long enough for me to get ready."

"Ready for what?" Dipper yawned as he crawled out of bed and dug around for fresh clothes. Mabel stared for a little before Dipper smacked his head. "Oh, right." He muttered.

"Geez, are you okay?" She asked as Waddles rooted around a pile of dirty clothes, "You're kinda…not all there."

"I just had a bad nightmare," He assured, "I had some weird dream about this pyramid guy, the book, and some weird people."

"Like some secret order?" Mabel asked.

"Maybe," Dipper said, "I couldn't see them…they were dark and creepy looking. Mabel, have you seen my cap?" Mabel looked around until she saw her pig staring at her, somehow managed to get Dipper's cap on its head. The boy looked over and snatched his cap away, saying, "Thanks." The pig grunted and then rolled over.

"Maybe it's some sort of secret order of wizards? Or maybe something like government conspiracies?" she asked as she picked up her pig and placed her chin on its head.

"Might be," Dipper answered, "It could just be some club. I doubt we could figure it all out in one summer."

"We will," Mable answered as she walked out, "We solved weirder and more complicated mysteries before. We'll solve this one in no time."

"I don't think there's anything to solve," he said, "At least not with that stuff. I only had a nightmare, not a vision. But then there's this." He flipped his book open to the message.

"Looks like someone's alphabet soup on a wobbly table." Mable commented, "What kind of sentence is that?"

"I don't know," he answered, "It was on the bathroom mirror last night. In black marker no less!"

"Well I didn't see anything," Mabel said, except you knocked over my toothbrush." A loud clang made the twins and pig rush to the kitchen, seeing Grunkle Stan holding his foot while a pan rested on the floor.

"WHY DID I PUT THE PANS ON THE TOP SHELF?!" he screamed as he leaned against the counter, "MOTHER-"

"Grunkle Stan?" the twins asked. The elder looked at them and his eyes grew wide.

"Hey," he greeted, "How'd ya sleep?"

"Good." Dipper said.

"Good." Stan repeated as he picked the pan off the floor.

"Are you okay Grunkle Stan?" Mable asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured, "Just a pan to the foot; nothing big. I'll just get started on breakfast." Mabel and Dipper couldn't help but stare as Stan tried to dig out something edible from the fridge, keeping the weight off of his foot.

"Ya sure you don't need help?" Dipper asked.

"What?" Stan asked, "No, I'm fine! It's just a little sore! Why don't you open up the shack for Wendy and Soos? I'll call ya when I get something on the table!" The twins shrugged and walked off to do what their uncle ordered.

"Now Grunkle Stan is off today!" Mabel pointed out.

"No," Dipper assured, "He's just a little old. Things happen."

"Well, didn't you notice that he acted a little nervous?" Mabel pointed out.

"He always tries to defend himself." He reminded. "He's a conman, remember?" His sister accepted it and the trio walked on in silence.

/

The twins started to get the shack ready for any gullible tourists that are dumb enough to stop, dusting the artifacts and sweeping up the old floors. "Hey Dipper?" Mabel asked, making him look over to see Mabel decorating a jackalope's antlers with small, handmade ornaments. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I think that jackalope looks like a chandelier now." Dipper said with a smile. Mabel looked at the jackalope and pondered, putting her hand under her chin.

"So, no on the glitter?" she asked. He shook his head and chuckled as he cleaned a jar that held a preserved blob of something. The door opened and the two turned to see Soos walk in with a toolbox in his hand.

"Hey dudes." He greeted.

"Hey Soos." The duo replied.

"Any of ya heard of what happened last night?" Soos asked as he proceeded to test out the lighting.

"No," Dipper asked, "What happened?"

"They say some weird vine decided to spring up in the middle of Oregon," he explained, "Just happened out of nowhere."

"Really?" Mabel asked, "It's just like the fairy tales. You think a giant goose is gonna come out of nowhere?"

"Don't jinx it Mabel." Dipper said, "But how could a giant plant spring out of nowhere? Did it happen in the woods or on a mountain?"

"Nope," Soos answered, "It was in the middle of a big city. Destroyed a few buildings and broke the roads."

"Could it all be connected to Dipper's dream?" Mabel pondered.

"What dream?" the big man asked.

"It's not!" Dipper groaned, "It was just a dream." The door opened again and the three looked to see Wendy walk through with a coffee in one hand and an arm around a girl's shoulders.

"Hey Soos, dorks." She greeted, "What's up?"

"We were talking about a giant plant going nuts in Oregon." Mabel said.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Wendy said, "Messy stuff. Anyway, I want everyone to meet Ashley here; she's staying with my family for a few days and I thought I show her around." The three gazed upon the newcomer, from her cream colored skin to her blonde pigtails decorated with pink ribbons. She cowered under Wendy's arm, and seemed to shrink away from their stares.

She tugged on her blue shirt, saying, "Hello…it's nice to meet all of you."

"Hi Ashley!" Mabel greeted, "I'm Mabel, and this is Waddles!" She held Waddles up for Ashley to see, who stared at it with curiosity. "Isn't his face fat?" She asked as she cuddled with the pig's face, "And he's really smart too! Can you say 'Mabel' Waddles?" She set the pig down and Waddles sniffed a little before grunting out 'Mabel'.

"Pigs are intelligent creatures…" Ashley remarked quietly.

"Oh yeah, this is Soos!" Mabel continued, "He's really cool!"

"Nice to meet you Ash." Soos said as he held out a hand. She reached out and shook hands with him, quickly retracting her arm when done, "Maybe we could hang out later."

"Are you hitting on her Soos?" Wendy teased.

"No." he answered.

"My name is Dipper." The twin introduced.

"Hi." Ashley uttered.

"Ya think Mr. Pines would allow her here?" Soos asked.

"If he asks," Wendy started, "I'll just tell him, 'she'll work here for free'. It shouldn't be that bad. Anyway, you can hang with the twins here; they're pretty cool. See ya later." Wendy left them to take her usual spot, leaving the three with the stranger.

"So…Ashley," Dipper began, "Where are you from?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." She uttered as she shoved her hands into her pockets, "Can I just go and clean the windows or something?"

"Sure…" he said as he handed her a broom, "The upstairs needs sweeping."

"On it." She said before walking away.

"Kinda harsh, isn't she?" Dipper asked.

"She's just shy." Mabel answered.

/

To be continued.


	3. Ashley's Lost it!

I don't own Gravity falls, and sorry for confusion. I own Ashley though, but don't worry.

/

The day went on as usual as the members of the Mystery Shack did their assigned jobs. It was a slow summer day; the biggest excitement came in the form of a bus of seniors traveling cross county. Around noon, Mable and Dipper were chasing Waddles through the woods. "Waddles!" Mable cried, "Get back here!" She giggled as the pig jumped over a log. Dipper tried hard to keep up with the energetic sibling and pet, but he ended up tripping on a rock and falling into a dirt pile.

"Ow…" He groaned as he got up and dusted himself off. Looking around, he saw that he lost sight of Mabel and Waddles. "Great," he grumbled, "I'm alone in the woods. Nothing good ever happens to the guy alone in the woods." A rustling made Dipper look around, but saw nothing there. "Losing my mind already…" he muttered, until the noise sounded off again. "Who's there?" Dipper demanded, "Mabel, if it's you, I'm not scared!"

More rustling occurred, making him doubt his last phrase. He kept looking around until Dipper noticed that none of the bushes are moving. He looked up, seeing something black fall from the trees, making his heart jump as he dived out of the way as the figure landed on the forest floor. "That's a big squirrel…" he kid himself.

"Damn it…it's not here…" The figure muttered, making Dipper realize who it was.

"Ashley?" he asked, making the person turn around and stare at him.

"Oh, the kid…" Ashley uttered, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find my sister," Dipper answered, "And what are you doing here?"

"Climbing trees," She answered, "any other questions?"

"Yeah," he began, "What were you looking for?" Ashley's eyes widened at the commented, but she regained her composure.

"I wasn't looking for anything." She said.

"I just heard you say, 'it's not here'." Dipper quoted, "You were looking for something."

"Even if I was," she said, "A kid like you can't find it or understand what it is."

"Lady," Dipper began, "This kid's been through a lot during this summer. Try me."

"A book." Ashley muttered.

"A book?" Dipper asked, "You climbed the trees just to look for a book?"

"What's happening?" Mabel exclaimed as she and Waddles burst onto the scene. She stopped and gasped, uttering, "For shame Dipper; going out with a new girl when you had your sights on Wendy this entire time!"

"It's not like that!" Both exclaimed.

"Ashley was telling me that she lost a book!" Dipper began, "And she's been climbing trees to find it!"

"I don't believe you!" Mabel said as she turned her back on the two, "Now I expect for someone to confess that you're not my real brother!"

"What is she talking about?" Ashley asked.

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled, "Listen! I was chasing you, I tripped and lost you, Ashley fell out of the trees, and now she was telling me that she was looking for a book! That's the whole story!"

"Oh," Mabel said, "Okay. That's a bit anti-exciting. So, why were you looking for a book in the trees?"

"If I feel the trees," Ashley began, "I can feel the pages of the book; each rip and fold, each stroke of the pen, and the very smell of time upon the paper. If I can feel the exact feelings of this book, then I would be able to find it."

"That's…weird…" Dipper commented.

"That's…cool!" Mabel answered, "Hey, can you feel this book?" She reached into Dipper's vest and pulled out volume 3, making Ashley gasp and snatch the book away.

"This is the book!" She exclaimed, until she looked at the cover and her excited expression changed to sorrow. "This isn't the book…" she uttered as she handed the book back to Dipper.

"Wait, you're looking for a book like mine?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah…" she answered, "But my book has a one on the cover, not a three."

"Whoa…" Mabel gasped, "You know about Gravity Falls' monsters too!"

"Actually, volume one does not talk about creatures," Ashley explained, "It actually is a spell book on how to control nature."

"Really?" the twins asked.

"Yeah," she said, "You can make the earth shake, the waters flood or recede, and you can even make fire pop up out of nowhere!"

"So," Mabel began, "I can make rainbows come out whenever I want?"

"Uh…sure?" Ashley answered, "But I don't really know unless I can find my book!"

"We can help." Dipper offered, "We dealt with a lot of weird things in this town."

"Gnomes, ghosts, creepy psychic kids, time travelers, cursed wax figures, just to name a few.  
Mabel added.

"You would really help a stranger like me?" She asked.

"Sure," Dipper answered, "I wanna know more about this book, and about this town. Maybe if we find your book, the big mystery could be solved!"

"Thanks." Ashley breathed out as she knelt down and hugged the two, "This means so much to me…and you could probably save a few lives as well."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Dipper said as the two broke away, "What do you mean?"

"Well," she began, "I didn't lose my book; it was stolen. Some hooded jerk came and stole my volume. I spent months trying to find who took it, and I'm about to give up…but you guys really brightened my spirits."

"No problem!" Mabel exclaimed, "I got so much cheer, I can spread it around!"

"But what makes you think that your book is in here?" Dipper asked.

"The random vine sprouting in the middle of nowhere," Ashley pointed out, "Plus, I feel that some unknown force is connecting my book to this town.

"So, you're saying that all the books connected to Gravity Falls could be here?" Dipper asked.

"Not sure…" She answered, "I don't even know how many there are."

"Well, why are we standing around here for?" Mabel announced, "We got a world to save and a book to find! Let's get going!" Ashley pumped a fist while Dipper nodded, and then the three ran off. Within the shadows, a figure watched the three, quietly uttering, "I'm too late…" before disappearing.

/

To be continued.


	4. But She Found it Again

I don't own Gravity falls, and sorry for confusion. I own Ashley though, but don't worry.

/

Later, the three walked off the bus as they stepped onto Gravity Falls' square, seeing a few people walking around. "This is where I got my book stolen," Ashley explained, "And somehow, I feel a good connection to it here…"

"So, you think that the book is here?" Dipper asked, "But where would it be?"

"Maybe it's in the library?" Mabel suggested, "Or what about that secret place in the graveyard? When we were looking for the real founder of Gravity Falls?"

"Doubt it," Dipper said, "That place is probably cleaned out and sealed up. As for the library…I don't know."

"No," Ashley answered, "It's here…"

"As in…?" He started.

"Right in the square?" His sister finished, allowing Ashley to nod. "Well, this is gonna be a short adventure." Mabel commented, "So, where can you feel the book?"

"Hmm…" The teen pondered as she rubbed her temples, "I feel that the book is near, but it is also in someone's hands…I can feel ragged skin on the cover…"

"That's gotta be the guy that took the book!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Let's get the bad guy!' Mabel cheered as the three ran in different directions. The two twins and their new friend searched high and low for whoever was old and carried a book. All that Dipper found was some teen pulling a cart filled with magazines and comics. Mabel found Old Man McGucket trying to stew a phonebook with some bread and rain water. Ashley found several old people that were visiting from a retirement home; she didn't find a book, but she got her cheeks pinched and head bonked.

Around thirty minutes later, the three collapsed in front of the founder's statue, exhausted, frustrated, and numb. "I don't think I can feel my feet." Mabel commented.

"I can't feel my cheeks…" Ashley moaned as she rubbed her face.

"We turned this town upside down, and we didn't find any old guy with the book." Dipper groaned, "Are you sure you felt it here?"

"I'm as sure as a pig likes food," Ashley uttered, "I felt the presence of the pages and the elder's skin!"

"Do you feel it now?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered, "It's stronger than before! It's almost like we're on top of it!"

"Well, I don't see any old guy with a book around," Dipper argued, "Do you?"

"That's the problem!" Ashley exclaimed, "You rely on your eyes, not your heart!"

As the two argued, Mabel stood up and started to climb the statue. Once she was on the head, she looked around. She saw a few people standing by a tree, a parent and a child entering a store, a stray dog eating from a tipped garbage can, some shadow stretching up into a person, a cat trying to shake off a string attached to its leg,-

"Huh?" she mumbled as she looked over the scenery again. People against tree, family entering store, dog eating garbage, shadow turning into a person. "Dipper, Ashley!" She cried.

"WHAT?!" both asked.

"I found some weird shadow guy over there!" Mabel explained as she pointed right. The two followed her gaze and saw the shadow shape itself into a man's profile.

"Shadow magic…" Ashley breathed, "That's him! He stole my book!"

"How are shadows a part of nature?" Dipper asked, but was interrupted when Mabel jumped on Ashley's back and the two charged at the person.

"Hey book-napper!" Mabel exclaimed as they charged, "Prepare to meet the wrath of Mabel Pine-yeaugh!" Mabel was interrupted as the two fell through a hole. The figure shook his head as the two girls tried to climb out.

"HEY!" cried Dipper as he ran towards them, "Leave my sister alone!" But as he ran, the figure made a few hand gestures before a group of vines sprang from the ground and caught Dipper in mid-sprint. The boy struggled, but the vines only gripped him tighter as they grew higher. Mabel and Ashley were able to climb out of their hole just in time to see Dipper struggling for dear life.

"LET DIPPER GO YOU MEANIE!" Mabel yelled as she kicked the figure in the shin, making him grunt before it pushed her into the hole again.

"This is too far!" Ashley cried as she made a few hand gestures before a spray of fire advanced towards the attacker. The figure only stomped on the ground before a spurt of water arose and dowsed the flames. He then snapped his fingers before the ground beneath her instantly turned into a sinkhole, pulling her up to her neck in mud.

The figure turned to leave, limping away until he melted into a shadow once more, leaving the three in their predicaments. "Well, now what?" Dipper asked as Ashley and Mabel struggled out of their pits.

"First, get out of this mess." Ashley spat, "Then, we go back to that Shack. Finally, we're gonna get that creep! He's so asking for it now!"

"Well, he wasn't trying to hurt us…" Mabel said as she used her grappling hook to climb out.

"I don't care!" Ashley said as she spat out some mud, "This is utterly humiliating! I'm not gonna get tossed around in the mud like this!"

"Ashley, it's just mud." Dipper said as he inched his hand towards his Swiss army knife, "It washes off. Get over it." The teen glared at Dipper before sighing in agitation as she pulled herself out.

"Right, sorry." She apologized, "I just lost my head there. It's just embarrassing when a person is taken down by low-level tricks; feels more like a play-date than an actual confrontation."

"What about that flame trick you did?" Mabel asked as she climbed the vines.

"That's another low-level trick," she explained, "It's just supposed to cause one-degree burns, that's all."

"Then what's a high level spell supposed to do?" Mabel asked.

"Completely incinerate a body." Ashley answered, "Not even supposed to leave ashes." A cold chill ran down the twins' spines, fearing of such a power. "Don't worry;" she assured, "I would never use such a power on any innocent people. Him, I can't be sure of."

"All the more reason to find that guy again and get your book back," Dipper said as Mabel pulled the vines away, "But instead of going to the Shack, why not try to follow that guy? Or at least try to find his hideout or something?"

"I don't think that's possible." Ashley said, "A person that relies on shadow magic leaves no trace. And there's possibly tons of hideouts in Gravity Falls, isn't there?"

"Yeah, but we can't give up now!" Mabel exclaimed, "That guy might kill someone! Destroy whole towns! Make cats and dogs live together!"

"How is that last one bad?" Dipper asked.

"Dogs are slobs when it comes to interior decorating." She answered.

"I still think we should go back to the shack," Ashley said, "What about your, 'Grunkle'? He would be worried about you, wouldn't he?"

"Are you kidding?" Dipper said, "He could care less about us. I still say we ought to find that guy!"

"I second that notion!" Mable piped up.

"Alright," Ashley answered, "We'll follow that guy. Onward Mr. Pines."

/

To be continued.


	5. The Most Uninteresting Chapter

I don't own Gravity falls, and sorry for confusion. I own Ashley though, but don't worry.

/

The trio was in the woods once more, trying to follow what trail left behind. Dipper was keeping his eyes on the ground to find at least a foot print. Ashley was looking at every shadow and hole to try and find a shape that would resemble a man. Mabel was being Mabel.

"So, where'd you come from?" she asked.

"California." Ashley answered.

"Cool, so did we!" Mabel cried, causing a few birds to fly from their roost, "Where'd you find the book?"

"A hole in the ground." She answered flatly.

"What do you like to do?" Mabel asked.

"Fossil digging." Ashley answered.

"Want to be an archeologist?" The preteen girl asked.

"Close; paleontologist." The older replied.

"Got a boyfriend?" Mabel asked.

"Had three," Ashley answered, "One was a jerk, Two died on a broken Tilt-a-Whirl, and Three went on to date a foreign chick."

"Sorry to hear that." Mabel answered.

"Had worse days," She answered, "And can you stop asking questions? The guy probably hiked it after that last shout." A loud crack and clang made the three freeze, quickly turning their attention to the source.

"What the hey-hey was that?" Mabel asked.

"Sounded like some old machine," Dipper said, "Let's go!" The three rushed to the source, jumping over fallen logs and rocks while trying to find the loud echo's source. "It should be around here somewhere!" Dipper promised, "Maybe in a tree, or on a hill side…"

"Or in the ground." Ashley interrupted.

"Huh?" he asked before looking down to see a set of bolts on the ground. He stopped just in time for Mabel to run into him, both collapsing on the very cold ground.

"Ouch…" Mabel groaned as she rolled off, "Next time, don't stand where I'm running."

"Next time," Dipper began, "Don't run to where I'm standing. But I think we found the source of that noise." He stood up to see that all three were on top of a metal door. Moss and rust covered the surface, but the outline of the door was pronounced ever so slightly to make out the shape.

"Okay Mr. Pines," Ashley began, "We found the door. Now how do we get in?"

"How the heck should I know?" Dipper said as he knocked on the door, "I didn't even know this would exist!"

"What about the tree?" Mabel began, "The one that lead to where your book was?"

"Oh yeah!" Dipper remembered, "Maybe there's a switch or something for this door! Start searching for anything that sticks out!" As the two kids scrambled for a switch, Ashley went to a bush and played with a dead limb. Suddenly, the door swung open and caused Dipper and Mabel to fall down the hole, Ashley jumping in before the doors slammed shut again.

/

A few minutes later brought the Pines twins and the teen to a soft landing. The sound of heavy panting and the echoes of their screaming filled the darkened air. Dipper clutched his chest as his heart pounded underneath his tiny hand. Mabel was babbling a little between breaths, throat tight and scratchy as her heartbeat quivered her breathing. "That should've been expected," Dipper whispered, "It should've. Did someone find the switch?"

"I don't think so." Mabel answered.

"Ditto." Ashley replied, "I didn't find anything that looked like a switch."

"Either one of us found the switch," The boy began, "Or the door was opened from the inside."

"That doesn't matter." Ashley said, "We are inside; time to explore, right?"

"Yeah!" Mabel said as she climbed off the landing pad, "Time to find out where we are!" The younger girl ran ahead as Dipper and Ashley scrambled to get off.

"Mabel, wait!" Dipper yelled, "It could be booby-trapped!"

"Ha-ha!" The pre-teen girl laughed, "You said 'boo-'AHHH!" Dipper's breathing hitched as the sudden scream from his sister made him run faster than his little legs could manage.

"MABEL!" He cried, "ARE YOU OKAY? MABEL?!" Suddenly, a force grabbed him by the back of the shirt and dragged him to the ceiling, seeing his sister Mabel tangled in many small vines.

"Kids!" Ashley cried, "Don't move! Those vines are like quicksand; more you move, the faster you sink. And you don't want to know what's at the end of it!"

"What are we supposed to do?!" Dipper asked, "Wait until we're dead?!"

"Hold on!" The teen said as she muttered a quick spell and made a few hand gestures. A squirt of flame raced towards the two, but buried underneath the vines.

"You missed!" Mabel cried, but the two suddenly fell from the plant's grip, allowing for Ashley to grab the kids and run from the spot.

"What did you do?" Dipper asked.

"A medium fire spell," She explained, "Burns plants but not people. But I think I made the thing mad." A loud roar made the three look back to see the vines spill onto the floor and reveal a large bud with teeth and multiple eyes.

"Yeah, 'mad' is an understatement here!" Dipper screamed as the plant monster crawled towards the three.

"And they said we should eat our greens!" Mabel joked. Ashley turned right and slid into a crevice, waiting for the creature to crawl past, snarling as the smell of burnt plant trailed after it.

"What was that thing!?" Dipper asked as soon as the creature was out of earshot.

"Probably a security measure," Ashley explained, "That, or someone's plant grown wrong. But we have to keep moving; no telling if that thing would find us again or not."

"Yeah, I don't want to run into that thing again." Mabel agreed, "But it does give me the reason to not eat my vegetables."

/

Meanwhile, the plant creature continued to crawl until it was encountered by another figure, instantly beginning to whimper. "What's wrong Gertrude?" the figure asked as he petted the creature's vine. He looked down to see several vines on its head have burnt off. "Crap…they're inside." He uttered, "This isn't good…"

Gertrude nudged the figure's man and whimpered more, making him say, "Alright, I'll fix your hair! Sheesh, prima donna!"

/

To be continued.


End file.
